Maria Chiara Marullo is a visiting researcher at the Department of Private Law and will stay until 21 December.
About the topic
Access to justice is a fundamental right that has been recognized as a priority for countries in the new Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure more peaceful and just societies. In order to ensure this right for all, we could evaluate the proposal of establishing a forum by necessity that has the potential to remedy corporate abuses. This exceptional ground of jurisdiction should be able to address some of the jurisdictional difficulties encountered in transnational corporate abuse claims. Hence this doctrine contributes to a fairer sustainable development paradigm, since it has a crucial significance to the right of access to justice as recognized in the SDGs and international law. Ensuring that home-state or bystander-states courts are able to exercise jurisdiction over civil claims concerning corporate abuses if no other effective forum guaranteeing a fair trial exists is just a small step in the fostering of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. Such forum would also allow States to intervene in an actio popularis manner fulfilling international obligations in defense of the fundamental interests of the International Community.